American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1% in November after increasing 0.8% in October, the association announced Tuesday.
In November, the index equaled 113.7 (2015=100) compared with 114.9 in October.
“We continued to see a choppy 2023 for truck tonnage into November,” says ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It seems like every time freight improves, it takes a step back the following month. While year-over-year comparisons are improving, unfortunately, the freight market remains in a recession. Looking ahead, with retail inventories falling, we should see less of a headwind for retail freight, but I’m also not expecting a surge in freight levels in the coming months.”
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ATA adds October’s gain was revised down slightly from its Nov. 21 press release. Compared with November 2022, the SA index fell 1.2%, which was the ninth straight year-over-year decrease. In October, the index was down 2.4% from a year earlier. The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 113.2 in November, 5.1% below the October level (119.3), ATA says.
ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight, ATA notes.
